Modern motor vehicles typically employ various occupant protection systems that self-actuate from an undeployed to a deployed state without the need for intervention by the occupant. Such systems often include an inflatable occupant protection system in the form of a cushion or bag, commonly referred to as an “airbag cushion,” which is now a legal requirement for many new vehicles. Such airbag cushions are typically installed in various locations in a vehicle and may deploy into one or more locations within the vehicle between the occupant and certain parts of the vehicle interior, such as the doors, steering wheel, instrument panel, dashboard or the like, to prevent or cushion the occupant from forcibly striking such parts of the vehicle interior.
Various types or forms of occupant protection systems have been developed or tailored to provide desired vehicle occupant protection based on either or both the position or placement of the occupant within the vehicle and the direction or nature of the vehicle collision. For example, driver and passenger inflatable cushion installations have found wide usage for providing protection to drivers and front seat passengers, respectively, in the event of a head-on type of collision. Other installations have found wide usage for providing protection to vehicle occupants in the event of a side impact (e.g., side collision, roll-over).
The airbag cushion is conventionally housed in an uninflated and folded condition to minimize space requirements. In the event of an accident, an accelerometer within the vehicle measures the abnormal deceleration and triggers the expulsion of rapidly expanding gases supplied or produced by a device commonly referred to as an “inflator.” The expanding gases fill the airbags, which immediately inflate in front of the driver and/or passenger to provide protection from impact against a windshield, dashboard, or other surfaces of the vehicle interior.
The inflator typically includes an igniter assembly with an initiator (or squib) coupled with an automotive connector for igniting a gas generant housed within the inflator. FIG. 1 is a side view of an example of a conventional prior art igniter assembly 100. In general, an initiator 102 of the igniter assembly 100 includes an ignition portion 104 coupled with a plurality of conductive pins 106 extending axially outward from the ignition portion 104. An automotive connector 108 is coupled to the initiator 102 by receiving the conductive pins 106. Typically, the automotive connector 108 is coupled to the initiator 102 by disposing the automotive connector 108 onto the conductive pins 106 in the same direction that the conductive pins 106 extend from the ignition portion 104, as shown by arrow 110. The ignition portion 104 is typically ignited by receiving an electrical signal from the automotive connector 108 via the conductive pins 106. As shown, conventional automotive connectors 108 typically have a relatively large profile. That is, the size of the automotive connector 108 from the bottom end to the top end (as oriented in FIG. 1) is generally relatively large. Accordingly, the overall size 112 of the igniter assembly from the bottom of the ignition portion 104 to the top of the automotive connector 108 is typically relatively large which can add substantial size to the overall footprint of the inflator and/or can take up space from other inflator components.